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Text File | 1994-08-18 | 53KB | 1,211 lines

┌───────────┐ │ │ └───┐ ┌───┘ │ │ ╤ ╤ ╒═╕ ╤ ╒═╕ ╤ ╤══╕ ╤═ ╒══╕ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╞═ │ ╘══╕ │ │ ╘══╛ ╧ ╘═╛ ╧ ╘═╛ ╧══╛ ╧══╛ ╘══╛ │ │ ┌─────────┐ ┌───┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌─┐ │ │ │ │ │ ┌───┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌───┐ ┌───────────┐ └───┘ └───┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┐ ┌───┘ │ │ │ └─┘ │ │ │ ╒══╕ ╒═╤═╕ ╤═╕ ╒══╕ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╞═╧╕ ╘══╕ └───┘ └─────────┘ │ │ ╘══╛ ╧ ╧ ╧ ╧══╛ ╘══╛ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┘ Version 1.10 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Tunnels-N-Tombs Version 1.12 Copyright (C) 1994 John Parlin All Rights Reserved Release Date: 08-18-1994 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── - 1 - LICENSING INFORMATION JUST FOR YOU This Software is Licensed, not sold. The Software in this package is licensed according to the terms of the following agreement: SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT IMPORTANT: Please read this license agreement before using this software. By using this software you acknowledge your agreement to the terms of this license. If you do not wish to follow the terms of this license agreement, you must remove this software from your system. The only portion of the software that you may retain is the distribution archive itself which may be used solely for distribution purposes. This program is not guaranteed to do anything but take up disk space (and a significant amount depending on setup). This program was written for a DOS-based platform. This means that if you run another operating system and have problems, you're basically on your own. DEFINITIONS The term "Software" as used in this agreement means the full system and all utility computer programs contained in the distribution archive, together with any updates subsequently supplied by John Parlin. The term "Related Materials" means all the printed materials provided in this package or later supplied by John Parlin for use with the Software. TERMS You are granted a limited license to use this software for a sixty-day trial period. You are encouraged to run this software for the full sixty-day period to ensure proper operation. After expiration of the trial period, you must either register with the author or remove the Software from your system. No special "demo" key files are required during the trial period. The registration fee is $20.00 U.S. Funds. A Registration Form is included in the distribution archive and is called TNT.REG. Once registered, you will receive a license to use the Software on your system for an unlimited period of time. You may copy the Software and documentation for backup purposes. You also may copy and share UNMODIFIED copies of the distribution archive, providing that the copyright notice is reproduced and included on all copies and no fee is charged for distributing the Software. - 2 - You may not sell this software for a fee and/or distribute this software along with other products without express written permission from John Parlin, nor may you modify or remove the Copyright Notice from the program or the documentation. You may not alter the machine-readable object files or program documentation files for any purpose including but not limited to; Defeating the internal key system structure for purposes of gaining an unlawful registration or; Modifying the program copyright notice or any other text therein. You also may not alter any embedded installation archives in such a way as to render them unreadable by program installation files used by the Software. Those who register this program within one year of the release date indicated at the beginning of this document, will receive a non-transferable registration number. This number will be delivered either by personal upload, or postal service. Allow up to 6 weeks for delivery to locations outside the continental U.S. For locations within the continental U.S., allow 2-6 weeks for delivery. All registrations are processed in a timely manner and usually only take a few days to deliver. However, when unforseen circumstances arise, registration turnaround times may be delayed. John Parlin reserves the right to revoke software licenses in lieu of any violation of the terms of this license agreement. LIMITED WARRANTY THIS PRODUCT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS ASSUMED BY YOU. JOHN PARLIN DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, RESULTS OF, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OF THE SOFTWARE. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. FURTHER, JOHN PARLIN DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE; AND YOU RELY ON THE SOFTWARE AND RESULTS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. JOHN PARLIN WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SYSTEM DAMAGE, SERVICE, REPAIR, CORRECTION, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF SAVINGS, OR ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT. SUPPORT BBS AND DISTRIBUTION SITES - 3 - METHOD OF SUPPORT Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome. If you have any, you should contact John Parlin on the City Terminal BBS. When reporting a problem, give the program version number and detailed description of the problem you're having in a comment to the Sysop. All support for this program is handled through E-Mail messages on City Terminal at (612) 566-5532, 1200-14400 BPS. The following BBS Sysops have agreed to be distribution sites for Tunnels-N-Tombs. Unless these sites have changed their status, you should be able to grab the latest version from: System: City Terminal Sysop: John Parlin Phone: (612) 566-5532 Baud Rate: 1200-14400 BPS System: The O-Zone BBS Sysop: Jim Biggs Phone: (612) 537-8659 Baud Rate: 1200-16800 BPS UPGRADES Upgrades will be provided through the distribution sites listed above as well as from any DDS system. Program updates consist of minor and major revisions. All minor updates are available for download and usage free of charge to registered Sysops. Major updates may require a small upgrade fee based on the complexity of the update. How can you tell if a release is a minor or major update? The program version number will indicate this. For example: Program version number: 1.00 | | | --- Minor revision \---- Major revision In this example, a release revision of 1.10 would indicate a minor program revision and no upgrade fee would be charged to those who are currently registered 1.00 users. A release revision of 2.00 would indicate a major program revision and may require a small upgrade fee, which would be indicated in the TNT.NEW file (included in the distribution archive). - 4 - INTRODUCTION This program is the result of almost 12 months of work. I'd like to extend my sincere gratitude to Paul Andre and Bob Eastham for their help in this project. Paul helped me to design the map generator in such a way as to be able to use generated maps in a door game environment. The entire game is array-intense and stumbling blocks we ran into along the way indicated that the game would not even work as a BBS door since size and memory requirements were extensive. But, with Paul's help, we re-designed the entire map generator and program concept so we could proceed. Not being an avid D&D player, I really knew nothing about how these games worked; enter Bob Eastham. Being a D&D fanatic from the past, Bob has literature (tons of it) which laid out many D&D scenarios including monsters and how things like hitpoints and damage points are administered. Bob helped to design a unique setup which allowed us to design an original game while keeping within the general guidelines of basic D&D. Bob kept at me. We got together at every opportunity in order to keep the development moving. When we got to the point where the attack matrix was completed and the monster and item resources were defined, I began to work on implementing it as a door program. This took another 3 months of working in my spare time on the project. The beauty of the game is that it's really never the same game twice. Players must 'learn' about the game while they're playing it which represents a challenge with each new game. Let's try to describe the game. Tunnels-N-Tombs (henceforth referred to as TNT) is a D&D type game consisting of a maze that is generated randomly each time a new game is started. The maze is made up of levels. Each level consists of a map resource as well as an items resource. Each player plays from the same maze of map levels and items which makes for a fair tournament since every player has the same opportunities and situations presented to them. How each player acts upon these opportunities and situations differs from player to player and ultimately determines the outcome of the game. Players move through the maze starting at map level 1 and work their way down through the TNT trying to reach the bottom level which contains the sacred star of jewels. The object of the game is to pick up the sacred star and bring it back to the earth's surface, winning fame and fortune and a place in scientific history. Moving through the levels of TNT, players encounter monsters and items. Monsters are depicted by the capital letters A through Z. Items are depicted by special symbols as listed in the on-line help scrolls. Items include potions, scrolls, wands, armor, weapons, food, gold and rings. While most items are helpful, some items are dangerous. Each item type is identified either by using it or by - 5 - using a scroll of identify to identify the item type. Once an item type is identified, all like items are automatically identified throughout the course of the game. Mazes are generated by the maintenance program MAPGEN.EXE. MAPGEN is used to administer the game in that it will detect when a game has been won and restart the game if this is the case. MAPGEN should be run from a nightly maintenance event from within your BBS batch file. More on this later. The on-line help and instruction scrolls are available to players from the game's main menu. These scrolls were written to assist players in learning about the game although they are not intended to give all the answers since that would take some of the challenge and fun out of it. Unfortunately, history indicates that folks generally don't read documentation unless they absolutely have to. But if they need it, help is there. As a door program, TNT offers some configuration flexibility to the Sysop. TNT supports BBS systems which are capable of generating a standard DOOR.SYS or DORINFO1.DEF drop file. These files contain information about the user currently on-line such as user name, time remaining, communications settings, etc. TNT supports the use of an installed FOSSIL driver (communications driver) as well as direct asynchronous communications support. The async engine will support locked DTE rates of up to 57K baud. The Remote Imaging Protocol (RIP) is also supported although in a limited manner. When a RIP terminal program is detected, TNT resets the user's display to 80x25 which is appropriate for normal operation. TNT is written in Turbo Pascal using a customized version of JPDoor 3.2 (JPDoor 3.2 Custom-Lite). An ANSI.SYS driver is absolutely required to be loaded in order for the local console to display properly during program operation. TNT supports DesqView and requires no special setups in order to operate properly. In cases where "bleed through" is a problem, make the following adjustment in the DesqView window(s) running TNT: Virtualize Text/Graphics? YES Turbo Pascal is Copyrighted by Borland International. DesqView is Copyrighted by Quarterdeck Office Systems. JPDoor is Copyrighted by Motor City Software. TNT uses record locking and is multi-line aware. To accomodate the multi-line functions, SHARE *MUST* be loaded on the host computer system (even on single line systems). If you run a DOS version prior - 6 - to 4.0, you may still be required to load SHARE. If TNT aborts abrubtly without producing an error in the TNT.LOG file, you should verify that SHARE is loaded on your computer. REQUIREMENTS TNT requires 190K of RAM in order to run. It also requires DOS version 3.3 or later. Players are required to support ANSI color and graphics. Though the game will play fine in mono-mode, it is mandatory that ANSI emulation be supported on the player's machine. Also, an installed ANSI driver is required on the host computer such as the DOS ANSI.SYS or the DesqView DVANSI driver. INSTALLATION/CONFIGURATION By following the installation steps outlined in INSTALL.DOC, you completed step one of the installation process. Now, you must configure TNT to run on your system. Included in the program package is the configuration utility program TTCONFIG.EXE. This program allows you to specify system and game settings and also allows you to create one or more line configurations for TNT. Each line or 'node' that is to run will have its own line settings from which to pull communications setup information such as communications port, port address, IRQ setting, etc. Note that these settings are really only used when the async engine is selected. In cases where a FOSSIL driver is used, communications settings are pulled directly from the BBS drop file. Regardless, these settings must be specified for each individual node. Fire up TTCONFIG.EXE. Upon initial startup, TTCONFIG will create a default TNT.CFG file for default system and game settings as well as a default LINES.CFG file for default line settings. Once TTCONFIG is fired up, you will be presented with a main menu of sub-menus available. Each sub-menu field is explained below. While in a sub-menu, pressing F1 presents a brief help window pertaining to the field on which the cursor is currently positioned. SYSTEM SETTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BBS Name: This is the BBS name that you wish to use with the program. This is the BBS name that you should specify when filling out the registration form (TNT.REG). System Operator Name: This is the BBS System Operator (Sysop) name that you wish to use with the program. This is the Sysop name that you should specify when filling out the registration form (TNT.REG). - 7 - Drop File Type: This setting specifies which drop file type should be used. This is a toggle setting and valid choices include DORINFOx.DEF and DOOR.SYS. Pressing <SPACEBAR> on this field toggles the setting. Registration Number: This is the registration number you received when you registered TNT. Adopted By: This is the optional name of a user who may have adopted (registered) TNT for you. This is used only when TNT has been registered. GAME SETTTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Levels: This setting specifies the number of levels to be generated each time MAPGEN generates a new game. Valid settings are from 30 to 100 levels. NOTE: MAPGEN will generate one map consisting of the number of levels specified here. The map is then shared by all players. The size of the map (TNT.MAP) is proportional to the number of levels specified here. A 100-level maze can approach 800K in size. Another consideration here is that the more levels generated, the longer a game takes to win. It is suggested that you start out with 40 levels and see how it goes. Then increase or decrease the number of levels as needed. NOTE: Setting the number of levels to a lesser value than 40 makes the game more difficult, faster. Higher level monsters appear earlier. Max Minutes: This setting specifies the maximum number of minutes each player may be in the game on a daily basis. LINE SETTTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Line Settings Editor is used to specify the characteristics of the setup for each individual line or "node" to be used. From within the editor you can press ALT-A to add a new line entry, ALT-D to delete - 8 - the current entry or ALT-L to select from a list of available entries. Line Number: This is the BBS line number for this line entry. For example, if the line entry being edited is for BBS line 2, enter 2 here. This is reflected on the status bar. DropFile Path: This is the path where the program will search for the drop file indicated by the DropFile Type setting (in the System Settings menu). If you do not specify a trailing backslash, one will be appended automatically. Communication Driver: This setting allows you to choose between using an installed FOSSIL driver or the internal ASYNC ENGINE. When using the ASYNC ENGINE, you can also specify non-standard communications port settings (see below). The recommended setting is to use the ASYNC ENGINE. Comm. Port Name: This setting can be changed only when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. Valid selections are COM1 through COM8 and LOCAL. Use the <SPACEBAR> to toggle this setting. By setting this field to LOCAL, you specify local mode operation for the profile being configured. NOTE: When selecting COM1 through COM4, default values are assigned to the Comm. Port Address and IRQ Number settings. These may then be changed manually. Comm. Port Address: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. This allows the use of non-standard communications port base addresses to be used. The "$" symbol which proceeds the base address denotes that the value is represented in hexadecimal format. When entering a value in this field, you should NOT include the "$" symbol. NOTE: When selecting standard addresses $03F8, $02F8, $03E8 or $02E8 a default value will be assigned to the IRQ Number setting. The IRQ Number setting can - 9 - then be changed manually. Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $03E8 4 COM4 $02E8 3 When using COM5 through COM8, you should specify the correct base address and IRQ line number settings that you are using. If you are using an IBM PS/2, Address and IRQ line settings might be: Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $3220 3 COM4 $3228 3 COM5 $4220 3 COM6 $4228 3 COM7 $5220 3 COM8 $5228 3 IRQ Number: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. Valid selections are 1 through 7. Locked Baud Rate: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. If this is set to any value other than 0, the baud rate used to communicate with your modem will be equal to the value specified here. Valid entries are 0 (no lock), 9600, 19200, 38400 and 57600. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── BUILD A BATCH FILE If you will be running TNT on a multi-line system, there are several ways you could go about creating a batch file. It won't take a large amount of work to create a batch file system for loading TNT. One example might look like this: TNT.BAT : - 10 - CD \GAMES\TNT TNT %1 CD \BBS\LINE1\ In this example, it is assumed that the line or 'node' number in use is being passed to the batch file as a command line parameter. In the batch file it is referred to as %1. It is beyond the scope of this document to get into the technical aspects of batch file programming. This is just a basic no-nonsense example scenario. Please consult your DOS manual for more information on batch file programming. This example shows that the current directory is changed to \GAMES\TNT. Next, TNT is called and instructed to retrieve the line settings for line "%1". For example, if the line number passed to TNT.BAT is "1" then TNT would retrieve the communications settings for line 1. For single line systems, the batch file needed is a simple set of instructions. For example: TNT.BAT : CD \GAMES\TNT TNT 1 CD \BBS ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── GENERATE A GAME The only thing left to do at this point is to generate an initial game and maze. During maintenance MAPGEN would normally take care of this task but since you're just starting out, this needs to be done manually. This procedure may also be used to restart a game in progress, generating a new one. Execute the following command from the TNT subdirectory. This example assumes that TNT is in the directory \GAMES\TNT. CD \GAMES\TNT MAPGEN /R The /R parameter instructs MAPGEN to restart all program files regardless of the current state of the game. Whenever the /R parameter is used, any game currently in progress is terminated and a new game/maze is generated. The /Q parameter is optional and, when specified, instructs MAPGEN to operate without displaying map information to the screen. This is referred to as "quiet mode". - 11 - ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── LET YOUR USERS PLAY! Tunnels-N-Tombs is now ready for action! NOTE: Some BBS software and drop file conversion utilities do not write a proper drop file when logged in local mode, in that the COM Port is not specified as COM0 and the Baud Rate is not specified as 0,N,8,1. If this is the case, TNT may still be run properly in local mode operation if the /L command line parameter is used. For example: TNT.EXE /L WARNING: Even when operating in local mode, TNT expects to find a communications chip (UART) in order to operate. For example, you cannot run TNT even in local mode if the node you're executing it on does not have a communications port installed. It doesn't matter if the port is in use already or not, it just has to exist. PROGRAM MAINTENANCE TNT is maintained by the MAPGEN.EXE program. MAPGEN should be run daily from within your BBS batch file in order to determine if the current game has been won so that a new game can be generated. If MAPGEN determines that the current game has been won, it restarts all program files and generates the maze for the next game. It also creates a top three scores file that is displayed for the duration of the next game. You will need to run MAPGEN.EXE once per day during regularly scheduled BBS system maintenance. This is done by calling MAPGEN with a valid configuration profile as the command line parameter. For example, to execute MAPGEN during BBS maintenance routines, you might use the command: MAPGEN.EXE For a list of MAPGEN parameters, type: MAPGEN.EXE ? - 12 - THE MAPVIEW PROGRAM The MAPVIEW.EXE program has been included to allow you to view the current maze one level at a time. When levels are displayed, each is lit and even hidden items such as traps are displayed so you get an accurate look at each generated level. Pressing "<ENTER>" after each level is displayed moves to the next level while pressing "<Q>uit" exits the program. WARNING: MAPVIEW does not utilize file locking and should only be run when TNT is not in use. THE PLAYERS PROGRAM The PLAYERS.EXE program is a utility that I used during program development. I've included it for grins so you can use it or lose it. PLAYERS generates a list of all players in the game, giving their BBS logon name, player alias and current score. This information is echoed both to the screen and to the file PLAYERS.LST. PROGRAM NOTES, HINTS AND ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES TNT takes a patient and persistent player sometimes, in order to win. These two qualities, along with some tricks, can yield a winner in just a few days to a week. I found that throughout the testing process, impatient players or players who don't seem to catch on, don't make a lot of progress in the game. So I thought it would be fair to at least document some of the items here in the Sysop document so that questions put to you by your users can be answered. The file TNTHINTS.DOC has been included in the distribution archive. This file contains a list of player hints for the game. Three DOS environment variables may be used to alter program operations. These variables are generally used at the advice of the author if problems arise. The environment variables supported are: JP_DEBUG=ON When this environment variable is set, debug logging from within the communications library is activated. Log entries are written to the file JP_DEBUG. This is useful for detecting problems which might prevent TNT from loading properly (drop file not located, etc.). JPFOSSIL=HOT When set to HOT, this variable causes the communications library to leave the FOSSIL driver hot when TNT is exited. You should only set this variable if your BBS front end software cannot initialize the - 13 - FOSSIL driver after TNT has been played. JPMODEM=OLD When this variable is set to OLD, TNT utilizes an older communications initialization routine. This setting is only recommended if, for some reason, TNT locks up when a player enters the game. The following list explains each item that a player can use along with some notes that may be helpful. RINGS Up to 2 rings can be worn by a player at a time. Rings can be cursed. A cursed ring cannot be removed until the curse has been removed or until the player reads a scroll of lose item and the cursed ring is the item that is lost. Ring Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Regeneration Adds 1 hitpoint per turn up to player's maximum, while worn. Protection Adds +1 to the armor class of the armor being worn. When cursed, subtracts one. Gain Strength Adds +1 to +3 to player's strength while worn. If cursed, subtracts +1 to +3. Invisibility While this ring is worn, the player's piece is not displayed. When the current level is not lit, nothing is revealed as the player moves. If cursed, it cannot be removed which puts the player in a position where he might consider starving himself to death if no scroll of remove curse is available. Levitation Causes the player to levitate while worn. When a player is levitating, can attack and be attacked but cannot pick up items. Player is immune to traps (levitates over them). Fire Resistance Protects the player against fire attacks by dragons while worn. Dragons can still attack in hand-to-hand but cannot throw fire at the player and do any damage. Cold Resistance Protects the player against frost attacks by dragons and frost ghouls. - 14 - Teleportation When this ring is put on, the player is teleported to a randomly selected space on the same level. The ring then comes off automatically. This ring cannot be cursed. Fullness While worn, the player's vittles count remains the same so in effect, the player doesn't get any hungrier. If the player is wearing a cursed ring of hunger, this ring can counter its effect and still allow the player to move without getting hungry. Vampire When this ring is put on, the player's life blood runs from his character. Specifically, hitpoints are halved until this is taken off. Searching While this ring is worn, the player will not be allowed to move his piece onto a trap. Instead, the player is warned of the trap and the trap becomes visible. Hunger This ring is the opposite of fullness in that while it is worn, the player will use twice as many vittles while moving. POTIONS Players drink potions which may help or cause undesirable effects. Potions cannot be cursed. Potion Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Levitation Causes the player to levitate for "x" number of turns (selected randomly). Has the same effect as a ring of levitation. Healing This helps to heal a player. When a player's hitpoints are decimated, this potion will restore them up to the current maximum. For example, if a player has 10 of 20 hitpoints (10(20) on the status bar) this potion would restore it to 20(20). Extra Healing Like the potion of healing but also increases the player's current maximum hitpoints. Poison This potion is one to watch out for. If a player drinks this, he stands to lose a good deal of strength as well as hitpoints. Once the strength is lost, the only way to regain it is to drink a potion of Restore Strength or eat lots of spinach. - 15 - Restore Strength This potion restores a user's strength back to the player's current maximum strength. For example, if a player has 10(18) strength, this potion will fully restore the player's strength back to 18(18). Gain Level When a player drinks this potion, he gains enough experience points to move him to the next user level. Confusion After drinking this potion, the player becomes confused for "x" number of turns. When in a confused state, the player's piece doesn't move exactly the way the player intends. Speed This potion causes the player's attack rate to be increased for "x" number of turns. During this period, the player will attack twice each time an attack is made on a monster. Slow Player This potion causes a player to become sluggish for "x" number of turns. During this period, the player will move only once for every two move commands until the potion wears off. Invisible After drinking this potion, the player becomes invisible for "x" number of turns. While invisible, this potion acts as the ring of invisible does. Wine If a player drinks this one, he becomes drunk for "x" number of turns. Like the potion of confusion but doesn't last as long. SCROLLS Scrolls are handy items to have around but like potions, some may be harmful. Each scroll may be read once and disappears after it has been read. Scrolls cannot be cursed. Scroll Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Identify This valuable scroll allows the player to identify any item in his pack. Once an item has been identified, it is displayed as if the player has used the item before. Teleport When this scroll is read, the player's piece is teleported to a randomly selected space on the same level. - 16 - Destroy Armor As the name implies, this scroll causes the player's armor to disintigrate. Might be good when wearing a cursed piece of armor. Enchant Weapon When this scroll is read, the armor being worn is enhanced. That is, the armorclass of the worn armor is increased by 1. If the armor worn is cursed (eg. armorclass -5) reading several of these scrolls could be quite useful. Maximum armorclass is +11. Fire When this scroll is read it bursts into flames damage to the player in the form of lost hitpoints. Light Reading this scroll on an unlit level causes the level to be lit as though a wand of light were zapped. Blasting When this scroll is read, a number of hitpoints is is subtracted from each monster on the current level. Dang handy scroll but watch out... if a scroll of blasting (or wand of blasting) is used twice on the same level, the player is killed when the tombs collapse on them. Remove Curse When this scroll is read, any cursed item carried by the player is "un-cursed". For example, a -4 weapon becomes a +4 weapon and may be unwielded or hurled. Lose Item When this scroll is read, a randomly selected item is lost from the player's current pack. If the player's pack is empty, this scroll has no effect. Create Food When read, this scroll causes the player's vittles count to be increased by a random number. ARMOR When armor is being worn, the player is harder for monsters to hit. This is proportional to the armorclass of the armor being worn. For example, a player wearing +5 armor is harder to hit than a player wearing +4 armor. Armor can be cursed. Armor Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Leather Found primarily on beginning levels. Offers +2 armorclass protection. Ring Mail Offers +3 armorclass protection. - 17 - Scale Mail Offers +4 armorclass protection. Chain Mail Offers +6 armorclass protection. Banded Mail Offers +8 armorclass protection. Plate Mail The best. Offers +10 armorclass protection. WEAPONS Weapons are wielded by players to aid them in attacking monsters. Weapons have an assigned armorclass for each weapon type. For example, a +4 Battleaxe does more damage than a +3 Battleaxe. However, a Flail is a better weapon than a Battleaxe and therefore a +3 Flail will probably do more damage than a +4 Battleaxe. Weapons can be cursed. When a weapon is cursed and wielded it cannot be unwielded or hurled. All weapons may be hurled at a monster except the Flail, Bow, or Club. When a weapon is hurled, it is removed from the game even if it misses its intended target. Weapons are assigned a random armorclass during map generation depending on the weapon type. Therefore, armorclass is not listed in the table below, which lists weapons from least to most damaging. Weapon Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Arrow Most effective if hurled while a bow is wielded. Otherwise, does minimum damage. Rock Imagine getting clubbed with one of these. It's a good sized rock too. Can be hurled nicely. Club This isn't for locking your car. It's for wielding and hitting. Cannot be hurled. Battleaxe Great for wielding and hurling. Flail Cannot be hurled but good for wielding. Hammer Not your ordinary hammer. Dagger Wield it to stab your victim or hurl it. Spear Chuck this sucker at a monster to do some damage. Bow Cannot be hurled. When wielded, makes hurling an arrow more effective. Short Sword Great for wielding and hurling. - 18 - Long Sword Like the short sword but longer and heavier duty. Claymore Sword Most damaging weapon. The Claymore isn't a mine either. It's a heavy duty sword that keeps its edge even when you're losing yours! WANDS Wands cannot be cursed. They only zap. Most wands are used to zap monsters in the hopes of killing them but some have other effects. Wands have "x" number of charges (selected at random during map generation). Once a wand's charges are used up, you might as well leave it since it will only take up space in your pack. Weapon Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Magic Missle Not very damaging but does hurt the monster it hits. Fire Does significant damage to the monster is hits. Light When zapped on an unlit level, this causes the level to be lighted. This light is only in effect until you a) move to another level or b) leave the current level to the main menu. Frost Does significant damage to the monster it hits. Striking Does minor damage to the monster it hits. Lightning Does significant damage to the monster it hits. Negation This wand negates a monster's special abilities. For example, a Giant Eye has the ability to zap you. Zapping a Giant Eye with this wand takes away that ability. Also great for Frost Ghouls, Umber Hulks and Dragons. Fear Zapping a monster with this little beauty causes it to fear you. When a monster fears you, it won't even fight back when attacked. This makes a monster easy prey. Teleportation This wand can zap an item or a monster and cause it to be teleported to another space on the same level. Handy when you're in a jam. Polymorph This wand can be zapped at an item or a monster causing it to be changed. A zapped monster will change into another monster. A zapped item will be - 19 - changed into another item. Handy for zapping items that are useless in an effort to transform them into something useful. Sleep Like the fear charge, this wand will cause a zapped monster to fall asleep. Sleeping monsters will not chase you. However, if attacked, they will wake up in a rotten mood. Blasting Like the scroll of blasting, this wand will cause all monsters on the current level to lose a random number of hitpoints. But beware, if a wand or scroll of blasting is used twice on the same level, the tombs will collapse, killing the player. Revealing When zapped, this wand causes all items and monsters on the current level to be illuminated regardless of whether or not the level is currently lit. FOOD Food rations are placed throughout TNT and are depicted by the % character. Food may be tainted. When tainted food is eaten, the player vomits it back up and gains or loses nothing. Untainted food will replenish a player's Vittles supply by a randomly selected number. There are 5 types of food. Food Name Description ------------------ --------------------------------------------------- Tomato How on earth these were preserved over centuries is most puzzling. Good for 75-200 vittles. Dog Food Originally intended to feed guard dogs prior to sealing the TNT. Good for around 200-400 vittles. Tin of Sardines Keeps very well in the cool of the tombs. Good for 200-400 vittles. Food Ration A ration of some food that usually is good for 250-500 vittles. Spinach Real good for you and good for 250-500 vittles. Eating this might also increase the player's strength by 1..3 points. - 20 - GOLD Gold is scattered throughout TNT and is depicted by the $ character. When a player moves onto this character, the gold pieces are picked up automatically. Gold is not carried in the user's pack. When a player has 2500 or more gold pieces, he may B>uy a saved level. OTHER NOTES When a monster is killed, it will sometimes leave an item behind. Items that can be left behind include food as well as any other item that can be carried by a player. Players may purchase a saved level for 2500 gold pieces. When a player buys a saved level, the current level is saved and can be restored later should the player get killed. Saved levels are not liberal and the following characteristics should be considered: a) When a player buys a saved level, any existing previously saved level is forfeited and overwritten. b) If a player dies and has a saved level, the player is given the opportunity to restore the saved level AT THAT TIME. If the player does not opt to restore the saved level, it will be forfeited. Saved levels can only be restored at the time the player dies. c) Saved levels are NOT available once a player reaches the last level of the maze. Additionally, any previously saved level is forfeited when the player reaches the last level. THAT'S A WRAP! I sincerely hope that you and your users will enjoy this game. A great deal of time and effort went into producing this program. I would like to encourage you to try this software for 60 days on your BBS and if after 60 days you feel as good as I do about this project, please support it by registering. I will continue to add to the game as long as support is shown. In today's BBS community, doorware has taken a sickening turn towards commercialism. There are a number of professional programmers out there who saw a market and jumped on it. These programmers created their own library or portfolio of doors in a relatively short period of time, and some even offer "package" deals. In comparison, I tend to "sculpt" my programs in my spare time. After all, I a hobbiest, amateur. It seems that some programmers have commercialized doorware to the point where it is no longer a friendly hobby matter but rather a business. And if it puts bread on their table, then more power to them. However I - 21 - don't do this as a business. To run a successful business, you need to turn a profit and I don't. My expenses far exceed registrations received, so it continues to be a hobby for me. My software is user-supported. Toss out any commercial ideals of this concept. User-supported software, as I use the term, is software that is supported through registrations by loyal Sysops/Users. Why am I telling you this? I don't want you to get the wrong impression of what my software is. Your registration shows your interest and support, and as long as it is there, I will keep developing the software. There have been those who have felt that by registering they could impose demands on me (even backed by slanderous threats), but they found out otherwise. I respond favorably to friendly people but unfavorably to nasty, demanding people. Enough said. Yours Truly, John Parlin - 22 -